In the midst of all of the very cool musical things going on in my life thanks to this amazing Kitchen....this song came on quickly and I wrote and recorded it last weekend. I had thought to do a longer thread as it progressed...but it came on so strong that, well...here it is.

Eyes in the distanceA voice in the windI stop and listenAnd there it is againIs it just me wishingFor a long lost friendA hand becomes a fist From a choice made back whenAnd the eyes in the distanceAre watching

Lies and resistanceCome back againLearning how to listenMight have made a differenceAnd I wouldn't be here wishingFor that long lost friendA chance that was missedFrom a choice I'd make again

CHORUSThe eyes in the distanceEyes in the distanceOh....The eyes in the distanceEyes in the distanceAre watchingThe eyes in the distanceEyes in the distanceOh.....

BRIDGEWith the rain came summerWith the change came fallNow the pain lies under

The prize for persistenceIs a choice in the endYou know what you'll be missingBut you know you can't pretendIt'll leave you wishing For that long lost friendNow you can't be angryFor the choices made back then

'Cause the eyes in the distanceThe eyes in the distanceAre watchingThe eyes in the distanceEyes in the distanceOh....

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"The main thing is to have a gutsy approach....but use your head." Julia Child

"In a world of robotic conformity, the only originality left in music is the imperfections" Eric Craptone

"Special thanks to Steve Gleason for making me who I am today." Leonard Scaper

Really like the extra instrumentation you've used - really like the echoed words. Have you a really gentle harmony in there? (my ears are not fab so it sounds like it to me and the only thing I would say, is I would like an overt harmony there but that's probably just a taste thing)....

I love that line as well, but here's how it came about. I had the line penciled in as "The price of persistence......". Then, in the middle of doing the first real vocal take, I looked down at that paper and my mind screamed...."PRIZE......SING Prize instead!!" I did, but them I had to change the "of" to "for" in the ensuing takes to make it work grammatically.

Amazing what that simple lyrical change did......made the entire premise of the story work.

Oh...and yes, there are subtle harmonies in there. I always feel a little odd about harmonizing with myself so I tend to mix them in almost as if they are just thickening the main vocal.

@eblossman .....thanks for giving it a listen, Eric, and for your kind words about the vocals and the lyrics. I'm also glad that there are some instrumental elements in this tune that got your attention as I greatly respect your production sensibilities. Your material sets a high standard for "record" quality production. I admit to being a bit more hit and miss. When I start throwing stuff against the wall with a more complex (for me) production like this one I'm always curious as to which elements I should have let slip off that wall.

I don't work with strings very often but I had just got my old Ensoniq MR Rack synth back up and running and I have always been a sucker for that "Warm Bath Strings" patch. That....and the fact that I have been working with @Nic and the way she layers her strings has been a Mountain of influence on me of late.

@Jurgen .......thanks for that comment about the electric guitar that comes in there. I do tend to indulge myself with the addition of some distorted guitar where often times it doesn't belong but this time it seemed to add to the developing tension.

I reached down to the bottom of the well for the lyrics on this one and I seem to have stirred up a little mud in the process.

I meant to comment on that @Zedd .........I can actually feel myself slowing down finally. I will always need to have something working but I am feeling the need to go slower with the tracking and production part. These old ears of mine are not working as they used to and I know it is affecting my mixes. I was surprised that this tune came when it did and with such immediate clarity as I had thought I was entering into a period of rest.

I love how the first 30 secs allow the strings to get established. The tone of the guitar seems to fit well against the strings. I like the 10 secs or so at around 3 mins where the guitar is just there on it's own for a little while. That's the reflection time for the listener I think. The bit of electric just tops off the overall mood of the piece.I like the way the final chord doesn't resolve. Vocally it's another treat - you seem to conjure up emotions with that voice of yours.

How on earth have you managed to create 264 songs on your SoundClick account ? That's a crazy amount of creativity. You are the human equivalent of the bottomless cauldron or jug from Irish mythology but you produce songs instead of food or drink.

@MrBouzouki .........I'm glad that you picked up on that little spot where I stripped away everything but the acoustic guitar and the way I just let the last acoustic guitar chord ring out a bit. I appreciate those observations as well as your kind words.

How on earth have you managed to create 264 songs on your SoundClick account ? That's a crazy amount of creativity. You are the human equivalent of the bottomless cauldron or jug from Irish mythology but you produce songs instead of food or drink.

Back in 2006 I finally got myself situated in a dedicated studio room. I was able to start seriously producing music and hosting it on SoundClick. SoundCloud had not yet hit the scene at that time. I just always need to be in the studio writing and recording to maintain my sanity.......although the jury is still out as to how well I'm actually doing at that.

I think the lyric rhyme design is very clever here with that first line of the verses: 'Eyes in the distance/Lies and resistance/The prize for persistence', craftsman at work! Thoughtful song.

It's interesting to see you do a bit more with strings this time, but it's not overdone and your guitar work still takes centre stage for me.

As others have mentioned, you are a very prolific writer @Leonard Scaper. Next week I am going to try getting up early like you do! But I don't think I will ever have 264 songs on Soundcloud! That's got to be some record!

(PS: while writing this reply I have been trying to come up with a good rhyme if I had to write a further verse. I could only come up with 'The Pies Shop Assistants', so maybe back to the drawing board for me! Sounds like a good name for a band though.)

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If you like novels with a musical theme, why not try 'Sixth Beatle - When Music Changed The World', easily found on Amazon and Google. It is amazing, although as the author I may be biased!

@MichaelA ....Pie Shop Assistants!!!! A GREAT band name. Ready to go on the road, man?? Thanks for that about the strings.....I was worried that they were not really working and I just did not realize it from lack of...stringular experience.